Residential camps as a setting for nutrition education of Australian girls.

OBJECTIVE To implement a planned nutrition education program aiming to promote healthy eating and consumption of a variety of foods in a residential camp setting for Australian girls aged 9-15 years. METHODS 1,600 girls attending a seven-day residential camp in Queensland (2000) participated in a program involving the provision of healthy, tasty foods based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents and a nutrition education package for use at the camp restaurants each evening that included nutrition information together with individual 'passport booklets involving puzzles and questions with incentives for completion. Process and impact evaluations were conducted by surveying a sample of participants using questionnaires and focus groups. RESULTS Of those surveyed, 77% felt they had leamed something from the health promotion material; 94% said they had changed their eating habits to include more core food groups during the camp, with more than 40% stating they had increased vegetable consumption compared with their usual intake. However, approximately 60% of campers were apparently unaware of the incentives offered and less than 30% demonstrated completion of their passports. CONCLUSIONS Barriers to the involvement of this target group in the health promotion activities need to be explored further. Involvement and training of key personnel is suggested to ensure consistent implementation and encouragement for all participants. Long-term behaviour changes outside the camp environment should also be assessed in any future programs. IMPLICATIONS Using residential camp settings to target children is an innovative strategy for nutrition education. Integration of such strategies into longer time frame programs may benefit participants and improve effectiveness of nutrition education programs aimed at this group.